Sleeve gun andwrist gun are generic terms for a smallfirearm designed to beconcealed under a long-sleevedcoat orjacket—in fictional examples there is often a device with a mechanism to extend it out into the hand to fire.
The "sleeve gun" was developed duringWorld War II byStation IX of theSpecial Operations Executive. The design was byHugh Reeves.[2] It was essentially a version of the noise-suppressedWelrod pistol, minus the pistol grip, and produced in both.32 ACP and9×19mm.[3][4] Between 150 and 200 of the guns were manufactured almost certainly byBirmingham Small Arms Company.[5][6] A Mark 1 version was designed but it is unclear if it ever made it off the drawing board.[7]
Though designs vary, most fictional sleeve guns involve a small conventionalpistol on a sliding or telescoping rail, which quickly releases the weapon into the hand for firing,[8] either by atrigger mechanism, or just the sudden movement of the forearm. Such sleeve guns have appeared in multiple media.
